


Kandi Crush

by Closeted_Calliope



Category: Trolls World Tour (2020), Trollstopia (2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Confession, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rave, also why is there like no trollstopia fics let alone brynth fics, and they are a killer wingman, culturally significant rituals, do i have to do everything myself, just two awkward home of sexuals, kandi, oblivious Branch, oh and laguna uses they them pronouns and is nonbinary bc i said so, should be rated g but rated t bc of language that mainly happens in the authors notes lol, takes place after s1ep3, they’re both kind of himbos tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27675169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closeted_Calliope/pseuds/Closeted_Calliope
Summary: With the fairly recent merging of troll cultures, somethings tend to go over people’s heads. That’s why when Synth gives Branch a bracelet (a really cool bracelet cuff, but a bracelet nonetheless), Branch doesn’t really think too much about it. And then he learns about its cultural significance to Techno Trolls, and well that certainly puts a lot of things into perspective.
Relationships: Branch/Synth (Trollstopia)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	Kandi Crush

**Author's Note:**

> Trollstopia is here and I have once again hyperfixate on these gay little rainbow bitches. I've also noticed an upsetting lack of Trollstopia fics in general on this website, so I asked my friends in the gay trolls discord to give me some Brynth prompts bc Branch deserves another boyfriend ya know. Special shoutout to Bugs for the specific prompt inspiration here, but everyone in that discord is an absolute gem <3\. Please don't @ me for any wrong information about Kandi culture: i mostly made that stuff up lol. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the fic! 
> 
> (Also if you know me from the crescendo fic (Trollex x Trollzart), I haven't forgotten about it and I will finish it eventually)

“Hey, Branch, could I talk to you for a minute?”

Branch looked up from his work. He had found a nice little secluded spot on a big mushroom near Hiding Place Hot Springs to work on his whittling. It wasn't anything particularly impressive: just a simple whistle in case someone needed to be alerted of an emergency. He had assumed that he wouldn't be interrupted, but clearly he was wrong in that assumption. Fortunately, this troll was someone he didn't mind interrupting him: Synth.

_Synth._

Ever since their bonding experience over sharing the hot springs a few weeks prior, Branch found himself getting flustered and nervous whenever he was around him, or if someone mentioned him in conversation, or even if he just though about him for too long. He had tried talking to Poppy about it but she would just chuckle and say "Oh, you'll figure it out eventually," with a stupid smug look on her face, like that did anything to help him sort these weird feelings out. 

Regardless of his apparent issues, Branch still liked talking to Synth. Despite being a hard partier and not afraid to really turn up the volume, Synth was actually pretty down to earth and the two of them had had many a engaging conversation with him about everything from how well the Trollstopia project was working to what they thought of the cookies at the coffee stand that day. It was really strange how easy talking came to Branch when he was with Synth, but he just couldn't put his finger on why. 

Branch pushed all these feelings deep, deep down to the pit of his stomach where he wouldn't have to deal with them right now and put his knife and half finished whistle down, his mouth feeling oddly dry. "Sure," he managed to cough out, leaning back on his hands to seem more nonchalant, "what's up?"

Synth took a deep breath and looked at the ground, seeming more nervous than Branch had ever really seen him. Except for maybe that time when they almost drowned in quick-glitter. But this was a situation that bared significantly less danger than that previous one. It was almost like he was trying to.... hype himself up? That's when Branch noticed him holding something behind his back. He was about ask about that when Synth suddenly spoke up. 

"I, uh, have something for you, D-Dubstep," he stammered.

Branch couldn't stop the fluttering in his chest as he smiled at his 'rave name". "Oh really?"

Synth's face flushed dark purple as he scratched behind his head, bringing his present out from behind his back and avoiding eye contact with Branch. "Here."

Branch carefully took the gift from Synth's hand. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, but not in a bad way. It was a circular band, formed using beads in a variety of colors, mainly blue, black, green, and purple. The beads were laced over what appeared to be a slinky in the center, which seemed to give the band its shape. It was very clearly meticulously handcrafted, and it was beautiful in an unconventional way.

Before Branch could comment on this gift, Synth quickly explained, "I-it's a kandi cuff, its something us techno trolls give to someone we care about a lot. And I, um, really, uh, you know....." He trailed off.

Branch smiled warmly. "Thank you, Synth," he said as he slipped on the cuff, to busy admiring it on his wrist to notice Synth's eyes widening and his mouth turning agape. "I really appreciate it. This is such a cool cuff, and I can tell you put a lot of effort into-"

"Yep uh huh cool really glad you like the gift OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME I GOT SOMEWHERE I GOTTA BE COOL GOTTAGO _BYE_ ," Synth rambled out before turning and racing the other way, ignoring Branch's concerned calls after him.

Branch sighed and took another look at the cuff. It truly was a masterpiece of handiwork, and he knew a thing or two about handcrafted gifts. He just wished Synth had stayed a bit longer so he could properly thank him.

_Oh well,_ he thought as he picked his whittling back up, _guess I'll have to thank him another time......._

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Branch walked through the roads of Trollstopia, not really paying much mind to anything. He was just trying to find Poppy to see if she had finished up her plans for the Balloon Buffet next week. It should've been a normal walk through, but he kept noticing something..... really strange about all the other trolls. 

It seemed like all the Techno trolls were whispering and pointing at him, quickly looking away and whistling whenever he tried to turn and talk to someone to ask what was going on. At first, it seemed like the other genres of trolls were just as confused as Branch was, but soon the Techno trolls began whispering and pointing with them too, and soon nearly every troll he passed was either staring at him with shock and interest or trying very obviously to seem not suspicious.

"I don't get it," Branch muttered to himself as he continued down the road, "What's gotten into everyone today?"

"Where did you get that cuff?" Someone suddenly piped up from behind him.

Branch shrieked in surprise and nearly jumped out of his skin, but sighed in relief upon seeing it was only Laguna Tidepool. They were another Techno troll Branch considered himself close with, and they had a lot of good scientific discussions, but they way he felt around them was closer to how he felt around Poppy or R and B than Synth. They were peering at him curiously through their thick glasses, but if they felt the same as it seemed everyone else was today, they were much more subtle about it. 

Branch lamented, "Why is everyone acting so weird today? They just keep pointing and whispering about me, and I can't even ask why because they're avoiding me the second I notice? I'm so confused! I don't even know what I did!" He buried his face in his hands with a groan.

"It's because of your Kandi cuff," Laguna stated as they pointed at the cuff, still sitting on his wrist from the day before. " And you didn't answer my question; where did you get it?"

"This? Uh, Synth gave it to me." Laguna raised their eyebrows in surprise." Why? Is it something culturally significant to Techno trolls?"

"More than you could possibly understand. Let's go somewhere a bit more private," Laguna declared as they took Branch's hand and led him into the woods. "I'm certain you're getting tired of everyone focusing solely on you."

It was only a short walk before they came across an empty picnic table. The two trolls sat down as Laguna pulled a scrapbook from their satchel and laid it out. "This is just one of the 17 volumes on the complete history and culture of Techno trolls," They explained.

"Hey, why do you have this just randomly in your bag? Do scrapbooks even survive underwater? How about-"

"I retrieving it from a friend I lended it to," Laguna interrupted, "and there is a long and complicated answer to that question that we don't have time to answer right now. Anyway, about the Kandi." They began flipping through various pages in the scrapbook as they rambled, "You know, I was pretty surprised to see you wearing a Kandi cuff, especially one that complicated. And I figured it would be from Synth because you talk to him so often, but I was surprised because I didn't think you two would've gotten that serious that quickly, especially to the point of wearing the cuff-"

"Wait, what-"

"Here we are! The cultural significance to Kandi," Laguna announced. The page was filled with many different kinds of Kandi designs and what their meanings where according to Techno culture. Some pictures even included little symbols, which Branch assumed were important. 

"You see, one of the most important aspects when it comes to raves is Kandi. It's used as a way of self expression, sharing with others, and building strength on your community. Trolls have also used it as a way of showing appreciation for specific people in their lives, and will make them a piece of Kandi that describes how they feel their relationship is." They began pointing out the symbols in the pages as they continued, "Single bracelets are often used as an ice breaker for potential friends or to give general love to a friend or family member. Slightly more complicated, peyote cuffs are often given to very close friends or trolls that are viewed as very important, like celebrities or King Trollex. Now you seem to have gotten a spiral cuff....." They trailed off as they looked for the specific entry on spiral cuffs.

Branch's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "W-what do spiral cuffs represent?"

After scanning for a moment, Laguna pointed out a specific passage in the scrapbook. "See for yourself," They replied, the slightest twinge of smug in their voice. 

Branch cautiously brought his gaze to where Laguna pointed. His eyes naturally caught on the words 'given to the object of a troll's affection.'

It took him longer than he would like to admit to process those words but once he did, he gasped in utter shock, nearly falling out of his seat. Every small gesture from the past few weeks came flooding back to him; every brush of their hands as they walked together late at night, every time he laughed just a little too loud and a little too long at one of Branch's bad jokes, every time Branch noticed him staring at him while he was rambling on about safety precautions and what happened to the Pop trolls before Queen Barb had her whole World Tour plan. Suddenly it all began to add up.

"Synth made me a spiral cuff because...... because he likes me?!?" He breathed out, shaking from the immense weight of the emotions flooding through him. 

Laguna nodded matter-of-factly. "It certainly would appear so. Additionally, I think I should inform you that everyone in Trollstopia thinks that you two are dating now."

" **WHAT.** "

"Wearing a cuff, or any Kandi gifted to you, for that matter, means that you accept the reason the piece was made for you. Some trolls that don't feel the same way will just keep the piece out of appreciation that someone thought so highly of them as to make them something. But since you put the cuff on...." They trailed off, as no explanation was really needed to understand the situation Branch found himself in.

Branch looked at the cuff around his wrist. "Well that explains why he got embarrassed and ran off after I put it on," Branch mumbled, eyeing the jewelry with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

Laguna shrugged. "I'm sure if you explain what happened, he'd understand. Synth is pretty reasonable and won't be too upset if you want to remain just friends."

"........."

Laguna placed their chin on their hands and their elbows on the picnic table and gave Branch a bemused look. "You _did_ want to just stay friends, right?" They asked smugly.

"I, uh, well, you see, OH LOOK AT THE TIME GOTTAGO _BYE_ ," Branch blurted out as he scrambled out of the picnic chair and away from Laguna. 

Laguna smiled and gave a thumbs up to a nearby tree, where Poppy was sitting and watching with binoculars. Poppy returned the gesture with a bright grin. 

Surely it wasn't wrong of them to give their friends a little push in the right direction, right?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Branch sat with his feet dipped into the hot spring, kicking his legs anxiously and fidgeting with the spiral cuff. The moon glistened off the water in front of him, reminding him of the glow of a certain Techno troll. He had sent a message in a bottle to Synth down to Techno Lagoon asking to talk with him by the hot springs and that it was important. Branch could only hope that the message reached him securely.

The longer it took for Synth to arrive, the more Branch was considering just leaving, though that might only make things worse and make Synth upset. Still, there were too many variables in this situation for Branch to be comfortable with. What if Synth never got the message? What if he forgot to show up? What if he was so uncomfortable with Branch's cultural ignorance that he never wanted to see him again? What if-"

"Hey, Dubstep."

Branch snapped back to reality and saw Synth's head poked out of the water, looking anxious. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, "I kept psyching myself out."

Branch smiled nervously. "I don't blame you, I was considering leaving in case this ended up being a bad idea, heh."

There was an awkward silence. 

"I, uh, assume you've figured out why I gave you the cuff, huh?"

"Yeah, Laguna explained the cultural significance and everything."

Synth scratched his ear sheepishly. "Sorry, I probably should've told you about the importance of Kandi beforehand, huh? Oh, and I'm also sorry for running away like that yesterday. I was just...... really overwhelmed. I wasn't expecting you to just put it on like that."

"Pfft, don't worry about it, if anything I should've brushed up a little bit on Techno culture before just assuming I knew what the gesture meant, or how to respond to a gesture like that," Branch assured him.

"Heh, it's no big deal, bro, I couldn't expect you to know all of Techno culture right off the bat like that."

Another awkward silence followed. 

They both started talking at once.

"Look, I'm sorry if I came off as too forward-"

"So, you really like me that much?-"

They paused and laughed at the goofiness of the situation, and Synth urged, "You go first, bro."

"So, uh, you really like me? Like, as more than a friend?" Branch asked, his eyes drifting towards the Kandi cuff to avoid eye contact.

He could hear Synth taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I, uh, really, really do. I don't even know why to be honest, but it's like the more time I spend with you these past few weeks, the more I start thinking about how nice it would be to maybe, uh, hold your hand, to have someone to hang out with after a super hardcore rave, to maybe be able to, uh...... to ask if maybe I could, um, I..... actually that's not important right now. You're just so cool, and smart, and nice, and I just...... really like being around you, bro."

Branch looked up to see Synth blushing furiously, focusing on playing with his hair between his fingers rather than making eye contact with his crush. Synth continued, face growing more flushed each passing moment, "You, uh, don't have to wear the c-cuff any more if you don't want to."

"Oh right, wearing the cuff means you accept the feelings, right?" 

"Yeah. I-I probably should've told you that before you put it on. Sorry."

Branch looked at the cuff again. 

"Well.......... what if I want to wear the Kandi cuff?"

"Huh?"

"I'm....... not really sure how to say this but, I really like you too, Synth. Ever since we almost drowned in quick-glitter, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I know realize that that doesn't sound super romantic or cool, but it's the truth. I really like spending time with you, Synth." 

Branch slipped into the water next to a wide-eyed Synth. 

"You're fun, you're exciting, but you're also really sweet and understanding."

He cupped a hand around Synth's cheek.

"So, yeah, I think I'll wear the cuff."

And then he kissed him.

It was short, as Branch didn't want to freak Synth out, but holy troll was it magical. Branch's chest burst with emotion as Synth's lips met his own. His lips tasted like sea salt and they felt warm, warmer than you'd expect on someone that lived underwater. Short as it was, that kiss made everything in the world feel right somehow.

Branch pulled away with a sigh of content. Synth had a look of pure euphoria plastered on his face. 

"W-wow, dude," he said breathily. He slowly began to slip backwards so he was laying floating in the water.

"Uh, Synth? You ok, dude?"

"Yeah, this just sometimes happens when I'm overwhelmed with emotions. Just give me a few minutes, I'll be fine," Synth explained, his face still covered in joy. He started drifting away from Branch a little bit. 

Branch gently reached out and grabbed his hand, holding him stationary as he floated. "That's ok, I'll still be here when you're ready."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't honestly know how to end this story so we're ending it here unless someone else has any better ideas. But yeah this was a lot of fun to write (even though I really struggled to write Synth in a way that makes sense) and I may or may not have another idea for a Brynth fic (also stolen from the gay trolls server) that I might write if people are interested. But that's really all for this one. I'll see you next time!!!!
> 
> -CC


End file.
